Gundam SEED: Hunt of the ShadowWolf
by ShadowWolf5988
Summary: Year 70 of the Cosmic Era. Tensions between the PLANTs and Earth were at an all time high since the conflict began. It was first assumed that the Earth forces, with their superior numbers would be victorius, but these initial assessments proved to be false. This story tells how this war was fought and ended KiraxFlay OCxOC OCxAsagi
1. Mecha Page

Mecha Page- This page will be updated as the new machines are introduced.

_"Hmmm the Shadow what an interesting machine. It will do as my repayment for what they did to me."_

James Black

Model number: Gat-X606

Code name: Shadow

Unit type: Prototype close and Long range (No mid range weapons except a beam rifle) Mobile Suit

Manufacturer: Morgenroete, INC

Operator: Earth Alliance, Serpent's Tail, Three Ships Alliance

First deployment: January 25, C.E. 71

Accommodation: Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

Dimensions: head height 18 meters

Weight: Max gross weight 63.5 metric tons

Armor materials: Unknown

Powerplant: ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown

Equipment: sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor, Mirage Colloid

Fixed armaments: 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x beam saber, 2 mounted on back ; 2 x armor schneiders, stored in hip armor. 1x beam rifle(Like the one carried by the strike)

Optional Fixed Armaments: 350mm gun launcher, mounted behind right arm, can be combined with 94mm high-energy rifle, hand-carried in use; 94mm high-energy rifle, mounted behind left arm, can be combined with 350mm gun launcher, hand-carried in use. Can only be used when the melee pack is switched out. The name of this pack is the LRAP(Long Range Assault Pack) Mirage Colloid to help keep his cover.

MAP(Melee Assault Pack): 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x "Armor Schneider" combat knives, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; "Schwert Gewehr" 15.78 meter anti-ship sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use; "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor, 2x "Midas Messer" beam boomerang, mounted on both shoulders of Sword armor, hand-carried in use and mirage colloid can not be used with this pack.

Name of Pilot: James Black/Ryan Ford

You need to include Technical/Historical Notes for the Gundam/Mobile Suit/Mobile Armor: With the outbreak of war, the Earth Alliance's Atlantic Federation begins a secret project to develop mobile suits to counter ZAFT's mass-produced ZGMF-1017 GINN as well as operate free of interference from the N-Jammers. The Alliance developed five initial prototype mobile suits secretly with the Orb Union. The GAT-X606 Shadow Gundam was designed secretly away from the other Gundams. It has similarities to the Blitz and Buster Gundam. As a Sniper or Stealth Melee mobile suit, the Shadow Gundam's 2 packs consist of The LRAP(Long Range Assault Pack) which contains 350mm gun launcher and a 94mm high-energy rifle. These two weapons can be used independently or both interchangeably combined to form two powerful long-range weapons. This pack allows use of mirage colloid. The second Pack is called MAP(Melee Assault Pack which contains 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 2 x "Armor Schneider" combat knives, stored in hip armor, hand-carried in use; "Schwert Gewehr" 15.78 meter anti-ship sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use; "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor, 2x "Midas Messer" beam boomerang, mounted on left shoulder of Sword armor, hand-carried in use. Like the other prototype Gundams, the Shadow Gundam is equipped with the new Phase Shift (PS) armor technology. When in Phase Shift mode, the Shadow Gundam is nearly impervious to attacks from shell-firing artillery or melee weapons. However, use of Phase Shift for extended periods of time is a massive drain on the energy battery.

On January 25, C.E. 71, the Shadow Gundam is used by Ryan to defend Heliopolis

Technical and Historical Notes: The Shadow was stolen by Ryan who works for Serpent's Tail through out his time working as a mercenary for Morgenroete inc. He secretly put a second OS in it that only he could access and when ZAFT attacks he quickly jumped in and used it to defend the colony. It is black with red trim and white joints.

_"Nice an awesome blend of close quarter combat my specialty."_

Eric Torrico

Model Number:Gat-X 093

Code Name:Black Hawk

Unit Type:General Purpose Close Quarter Combat Suit

Manufacturer:Morgenroete Inc.

Operator(s):Earth Alliance, ZAFT, Serpents Tail, Three Ships Alliance

First Deployment:25 January C.E. 71

Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

Dimensions:head height 17.50 meters

Weight:69.1 metric tons

Armor materials:unknown

Powerplant:ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown

Equipment and design features:sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor

Fixed armaments:2 x "Igelstellung'"75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted on head; 2 x beam saber, mounted behind shoulders; 2 x beam sabers hidden in hip armor; shield, mounted on left forearm

Optional fixed armaments: "Schwert Gewehr" 15.78 meter anti-ship sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use;

Optional hand armaments:57mm high-energy beam rifle w/175mm grenade launcher

Remote weapons (Optional):none

Pilot:Eric Torrico

Technical and Historical Notes: The black Hawk is Stolen by Eric at Heliopolis. it is Black with white and blue trimming and blue joints.


	2. Prologue: Fall of Hope

Foreword: This is my first crack at a Fanfic ever. I hope you like as to the pairings I am a fan of Kira/Flay not Kira/Lacus. I haven't decided if Lacus will be paired with anybody but if she is it will be an OC as for Athrun and Cagalli I might pair them up but I dont know yet. I will post my mecha as soon as I get the mecha page done. Thanks in advance.

Disclaimer I do not own Gundam Seed. I do own Ryan Ford, Eric Torrico, and Roxanne Smythe. I also own the GAT-X 606 Shadow Gundam and the GAT-X 093 Black Hawk Gundam.

Year 70 of the Cosmic Era. Tensions between the PLANTs and Earth were at an all time high since the conflict began. It was first assumed that the Earth forces, with their superior numbers would be victorius, but these initial assessments proved to be false. The superior technology of ZAFTs military and the addition of their superior GINNs quickly allowed them to hold the superior numbers of the Earth Forces at bay.

Gundam Seed: Hunt of the ShadowWolf

Prologue:

The Fall of Hope

Battle of Carpenteria: April, 2nd C.E. 70:

Carpenteria: A young man sat in the locker room of the Carpenteria base still under the command of the Earth Alliance forces. He took a deep breath staring at his helmet lost in thought. "Ryan are you alright," Asked an older gentleman? Ryan didn't hear him and continued looking into his reflection. His hazel eyes staring at him as he looked at his brown hair and noticed his brown goatee that he has had since he was sixteen. He was lost in thought as this would be his first battle. The older gentleman shook his head and said, "Son you okay?" John Ford put his hand on his Twenty one year old sons shoulder and the young man looked up. Ryan looked into his father's eyes and said, "I'm fine. Just nervous after all it's my first battle ever." The older man laughed lightly and took a seat next to him. "Lieutenant Commander Ford you are going to be okay. You are a natural at piloting. It's okay to be nervous. We have to keep this base in our hands and prevent Zaft from getting another foothold on Earth. If not then this war will last longer." The young man nodded. "I know dad, but i am only one man. How much of a difference can I make?" Ryan looked around the locker room at the grey lockers and the white ceiling. The young man laughed and said, "I really hate this bland room. It feels like a prison cell." His father with his Blue grey eyes looked at his son and laughed. "Yeah i know how you feel," he said. "It's time to go and get in our machines." The two stood and left for the hangar. Ryan took one last look around and held his dogtags in his hand. The young officer dropped them and finished pulling his pilot suit on and pulled his helmet on. He heard the click as it sealed.

On a ZAFT submarine outside of Carpenteria: A young man with bright green eyes and black hair sat in the cockpit of his DINN waiting for the operation to begin. Eric Torrico sat lost in thought. He was thinking of the coming battle and what it would mean if ZAFT could take the base and he smiled at the thought of showing the naturals that ZAFT wasn't going anywhere. He looked around the cockpit making his final inspections of the machine. this was his first taste of battle and hoped he didn't freeze up. "Commander everything is good with mymachine. How about yours?" The unknown commander said, "Good." The comander sounded no older than twenty seven. His face appeared on the screen of Eric's machine and he said, "Are you ready Eric?" The Twenty two year old nodded and said, "Yeah I'm ready. I'm nervous, but that's to be expected." He laughed nervously and said, "I'll get over it as soon as I launch." The Commander nodded and said, "Good. All units launch. Today we show the Earth Alliance we mean business." Suddenly thirty DINN's launched and started towards the base. Along with Goohns and a couple ZNOs. The battle was about to commence.

Carpenteria: The two men climbed into their cockpits and buckled in. Ryan was sitting in his spearhead going over the controls and running a last minute inspection of it in the calm before the storm. He had a bad feeling in his gut, but didn't voice it. He continued waiting for the order to launch. Suddenly the orders came and Ryan's features hardened. "All unit's launch we have several heat sources on our radar." The young man waited for several machines to launch. His machine was moved to the launch area along with his fathers.

"John Ford launching." The older man's machine shot forward as he took off and joined the formation.

"Ryan Ford heading out to intercept the enemy," The young man said as his machine jerked forward and he quickly joined his squads formation.

"We have to keep them from getting near the base," Said Commander John ford. He looked around assessing the situation, as he heard a chorus of, "Yes sir." The formation flew towards the DINNs launching several wave's of missiles. Most of the DINNs were able to maneuver through the missiles shooting most down. Three DINNs were caught in the fire and blew up. A few missiles managed to hit a submarine that hadn't dove and took out several missile tubes. Eric grit his teeth as some of his friends were killed and he began to fire at the Spearheads flying towards them, causing the formations to break up. Ryan continued his flight straight towards the DINNs skillfully avoiding the shots as he opened up with his 20mm machine guns shredding one DINN with them and firing off a small wave of missiles that hit two more DINNs destroying them. His breathing fast and erratic at launch had begun to calm and he surveyed the situation. He knew they were in trouble, but he had hardened himself for this and maneuvered his mobile armor to come back around and began a strafing run before being forced off his mark by a DINN. Eric Torrico moved his DINN towards the fighter that had taken out three DINNs. He fired at it causing it to move out off its present course and he began to pursue it. He pulled out his machine gun and began firing at the machine again as he launched two missiles at it. Ryan quickly destroyed the missiles and began barrel rolling through the machine gun rounds skillfully. Eric grit his teeth as he realized his enemy was a skilled pilot and was forced to dodge machine gun fire. Torrico pulled his machine out of its dive and refocused on the mobile armor that turned to come back at him.

Ryan began another strafing run on the current DINN he was fighting as he launched three waves of missiles at a group of enemy machines and destroyed three more before turning back to the machine that has been harassing him. Eric looked at the machine breathing heavily. His adrenaline pumping and his eyes narrowing. The Twenty two year old had to take this machine out and fast or it would cause massive damage to the entire fleet. Torrico began fired off a burst of rounds that took out one machine gun on the enemy machine. Ryan grit his teeth as he returned fire and watched as on of the DINNs missile tubes blew upcausing massive damage to the DINNs left arm. Ryan let out a whoop before refocusing and turning his machine around and bearing down on the enemy DINN. Ryan flew into a mass of clouds and disappeared. Eric grit his teeth and began to search for the enemy unit. His alarms went off as the enemy machine was able to get behind him. He dodged and yelled, "What the hell. You hunt like a friggin wolf." He thought to himself, 'and blends into the shadows like he is a shadow himself.'

Elsewhere: The battle was taking a turn for the worse for the Earth Alliance. For every one DINN they took out they lost four machines. The battle was a desperate struggle for the Earth Alliance to retain one of it's key bases. If Carpenteria fell it would be a huge blow to the Earth Forces. John Ford appeared to be one of few pilots not currently struggling despite knowing he was out matched by the superior might of the DINN he had just taken out his fifth enemy as ten more DINNs were launched from the subs. He shook his head and said, "Man this is nuts Mu." His friend laughed and said, "Yeah tell me about. We are going to run out of pilots and machines at this rate." The older black haired man shook his head at the grim reality of the situation and nodded at the younger blonde. Mu La flaga began a strafing run on several DINNs as he launched his missiles. Taking two more. "Command how is Ryan faring against the enemy," John asked about his son. He has currently made himself an ace as he has taken down six enemy machine's, but he is in a dogfight with one DINN and has lost a machine gun and took out a missile launcher on the DINN effectively disabling the left arm," came the response. His father nodded and said, "Thanks. Mu and myself will handle things over here."

The battlefield looked like it was in complete chaos as there were machines flying all over the place. Explosions were being set off here and there as the subs and the base continued to launch volley's of missiles at one another. Of the twenty subs sent to attack five were destroyed and another four were almost completely disabled. As for the base it had sustained a large amount of cosmetic damage and very few of the key parts were damaged. The EA was being badly shoved around like they were paper dolls. ZAFT was proving its technical superiority.

With Ryan and Eric: The twenty one year old was being stared down by the Twenty two year old. They circled each other before resuming their fight, They both fired on each other. Eric emptied the last of his missiles at the Spearhead and Ryan shot all but two down. He dodged them and watched as two DINNs flew right into them. He let out a sigh of relief and grit his teeth as he launched the rest of his missiles at the enemy suit as he flew by. Eric shot them down and dodged what he could not shoot down and watched as they slammed into two of the disabled subs and he watched in horror as they were completely destroyed and sunk. he growled in frustration and yelled, "You bastard. I will end you." Ryan turned his machine and began to fly back at the enemy DINN he fired several rounds at the enemy machine. Eric was able to dodge all but one shot that he was lead into. It blew his other missile launcher but caused relatively minor damage as he was out of missiles. Ryan shouted, "Why won't you die already dammit." He maneuvered his machine around and made a strafing run at Eric's DINN. Eric dodged the rounds and fired off a quick succession of shots that Ryan easily barrel rolled through. Eric couldn't believe the skill of this pilot. As Ryan turned his machine around a missile that was shot from the base locked onto him and he began trying to lose it. He flew left and right, but the missile kept its lock and bore down on him. Ryan rolled his machine upside down and flew as low to the ocean as he could without stalling his machine. Suddenly the missile struck his machine and it blew up in a fiery explosion.

Eric couldn't believe it, after all the two had been through it turned out to be friendly fire that finally took his foe down and he breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't him that blew up. Eric saluted his fallen enemy and returned to his sub for maintenance. At this point in time the battle began to take a turn for the worse for the Earth Alliance as the Goohns and ZNOs began their attack directly on the base. The battle quickly ended after that and John Ford just heard the news of his son. Of course the news was twisted to where the enemy mobile suit shot him down.

A/N: This is my first crack at writing a fan fic so please review and constructive criticism is welcomed. If you don't have anything nice to say without explaining it your review will be ignored thanks. I hope you like the beginnings of Hunt of the ShadowWolf. I know Mu is assigned to a fleet in space but he will be assigned there after this battle and since I wont be doing the battle of endymion I figured he should have a little screen time here.

Why did the Earth Alliance kill Ryan? What will become of Mu, John, And Eric? These will be answered in the next two chapters. I know the Prologue is short at only just over twenty two hundred words but it will get longer.


	3. False Peace

Thanks to EmperorDraco7 for beta reading this story and giving your feed back. I won't bore you with any info here. I will get right to the Story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED. I own my oc's and their machines.

Chapter ONE:  
A False Peace

January 24th C.E. 71

Inside Morgenroete's Heliopolis Branch:  
James Black, A young twenty two year old mercenary hired by Morgenroete to help guard a secret Earth Alliance project called the G-Weapon project. The young man stood there looking at two of the machines that had been built with a glint in his eye, that most kids had on christmas as they opened their new toys. He held his M4 assault rifle in his right hand barrel pointed at the ground. On his side were to forty five caliber hand guns and a mp5 was slung on his shoulder behind his back. For a simple guard he was heavily armed and wearing an all black special forces style combat uniform. His shaggy black hair was sticking up and out to the sides, but he carried himself like a professional soldier. The yound man was six foot one and had blue eyes. His beard was neatly trimmed the hair on his chin a little loger than the rest of his facial hair. He turned from the machines and began doing his rounds. Suddenly his PDA went off as he got several files from the group he worked with for the last year. The young man looked at watch and turned to a man. "I'm going on break, ill be back in fifteen minutes," he said. The older man nodded and said, "Okay Black."

James walked into the locker room, he looked in the mirrorand stared at a long thin scar that started above his right eyebrow and trailed down towards the middle of his chin passing within a few millimeters of his nose and stopping at the middle of his chin. The man sat down as he lit a cigarette. He took a puff and pulled out his PDA and began reviewing the files. He frowned as he realized what he had just been given. It was a detailed description of what ZAFT was planning to do the next day. Black shook his headand thought, 'So ZAFT is planning to steal the Gundams.' He knew he had to warn the others of the impending danger to this project and the colony. James had heard a lot about this Rau Le Creuset and knew this was bad. He put his cigarette out and walked back into the hangar.

Flashback:

James Black walked into Professor Kato's lab and said, "Hey Professor can you help me with something?" The older man looked up and said, "Ah James whatever it is I will gladly help you out." Black looked around the lab at all the different machines and equipment. He took a deep breath and turned back to the Professor. He smiled and said, "I need help stealing the GAT-X 606 Shadow, but I need to do it without anyone realizing what I am doing. Do you know of a way to do that?" Kato eyed the young man curiously. "Why should I help you Black? What is in it for me," he questioned. James looked around in thought. "I'll give you access to the data on all the machines while you help me do this, but I need this done by next week." Kato nodded and said, "So you want to acquire this machine, but for what reason may I ask?" James leaned down and whispered something in the older mans ear and the man had a shocked look in his eyes and said, "That is good enough for a reason for me. So what you need to do is put a back door operating system under heavy security in and you can be the only one to have access to it. So I will get to work on the security and it will be ready in two days. After that you have to rewrite the OS I put on here and do it in under ten minutes." The young man nodded and smiled. "Thank you sir." He left the room. Kato started working.

Morgenroete Hangar:  
James Black and ten others were sitting around a table. James suddenly stood up and put some things on the display screen. "As you can see my contacts have warned me that ZAFT will be attempting to steal the Mobile Suits tomorrow which could prove disasterous for this colony." The men looked at the reports with little concern and an old man said, "Why would ZAFT attack a neutral colony?" James laughed as his eyes narrowed. "You helped the EA design these machines and you claim to still be neutral. That is rich, I have warned you. Now do what you think is right," he said with malice dripping off his every word. With that he left the room and went back to the hangar.

January 25 CE 71:

On Board the Vesalius:

Heliopolis Air space:

Eric Torrico was getting into his pilot suit and put on a jet pack as he waited for the mission to start. The twenty three year old was the oldest of the pilots and he stared in the mirror looking at his black hair and into his brown eyes. He had just joined the Le Creuset team two weeks prior, being hand picked by Creuset for this task. He looked at the other people taking part in this. Athrun Zala, Yzak Joule, Dearka Elsman, Nicol Amalfi, and Rusty Mackenzie were all putting on their pilot suits and jet packs. Eric said, "What do you think is going to happen to Heliopolis during this mission?" Yzak Joule sneered and said, "It can't be helped. How can you claim to be neutral and build machine's for the EA at the same time. It will serve them right." Eric and Nicol both shook their head at the rash and angry Coordinator. "Yzak whether or not Morgenroete built these things is not the question. The question is did Orb's government know about this and if so why would they risk their neutrality," asked Rusty Mackenzie. Yzak laughed and said, "Of course they know and approve it. Why else would they have been built." Athrun shook his head and said, "Morgenroete may have done this without approval, but they have been built and we have our orders. So this situation can't be helped. All the soldiers nodded and Dearka said, "Im with Yzak on this one. It will serve them right for building these machines." The pilots sat in their escort shuttle that would take them to Heliopolis and all pulled on their helmets sealing their suits.

Heliopolis:

Kira Yamato was sitting at a bench working on a project he was given by his teacher Professor Kato. He was watching footage from a battle in Kaoshiungfrom the week before. Suddenly he heard his name. "Hey Kira this is where your hiding," a voice said as the young man turned to see his friends Tolle Koenig and his girlfriend Miriallia Haw coming towards him. Miriallia saw the news footage and said, "Fighting in Kaoshiung, that's close to the homeland. You think it will be safe?" Tolle said, "Of course Orb is neutral so it will be fine." Kira nodded in agreement. Tolle looked around the park and said, "Oh by the way Professor was looking for you." Kira sighed and said, "Already, what does he have more work for me. I haven't even finished what he dumped on me last week." With that comment he closed the laptop and three of them headed off to the technical college.

The three of them were walking down the sidewalk towards a car terminal that would take them to the college, when Miriallia saw her friend Flay and two others. She walked over and said, "Hey Flay." Suddenly the two girls said, "Did you know Sai gave her a letter. I bet it was a love letter." Flaystarted stuttering and turned bright red. Kira looked at Tolle and said, "Do you know what is going on?" Tolle laughed and said, "Uh no idea, I dont speak girl." The two friends laughed as they heard some one cough to get their attention. A raven haired woman said, "Do you mind if we get this one?" Tolle moved aside and said, "No not all we are waiting on our friends to finish up." The woman and two men climbed in the car and drove off. The woman thought, 'And to think their are children as young as them already fighting in this war.'

The three friends climbed in a car and started towards their destination. When they arrived they showed their badges and went in. They walked towards the lab and entered. They saw their young blonde friend, Sai Argyle and someone they didn't know. "Who's that," asked Tolle? Sai turned and said, "No idea a friend of the professors I would imagine." The other three nodded and noticed the Professor was missing. "Where is the Prof.," asked Kira. Sai shook his head and said, "I have no idea."

Heliopolis interior:

The ZAFT pilots were busy setting explosives around the central Shaft near a secret hangar. They joined back up and proceeded deeper into the colony to begin phase two of their mission.

Heliopolis Captain's office:

The captain was talking to the G-pilots just before they left and Lieutenant Mu La Flaga the sole survivng Mobeius Zero pilot said, "Are you sure it's safe to allow them to go out like this?" The captain nodded and said, "They are young they will be better suited to fitting in than two old war dogs like yourself and I." Mu laughed and nodded. he stared out the window of the office.

Vesalius Bridge:

"It is time Ades," Said Commander Rau Le Creuset, "Launch the Vesalius." An older man nodded and said, "Vesalius weigh Anchor and launch." The Nazca-class ship pulled away from the hangar and proceeded towards Heliopolis, while launching a few GINNs. The GINNs made their way towards Heliopolis to distract the escort ships and their mobile armors.

Heliopolis command center:

"Captain we have detected a ZAFT warship in the area," said a radio operator. The captain shook his head and Mu said, "I will head out in the zero to help protect the colony," as he ran from the room to launch. Mu launched his Zero and began to fight off the attacking GINNs.

Morgenroete:

The factory was in full swing as the completed Mobile Suit's The Duel, The Blitz, and The Buster were already ready to be delivered to their ship. The truck drivers climbed in as they prepared to deliver their precious cargo to it's destination. Suddenly an explosion tore through the colony's interior shaking the colony badly. Murrue Ramius yelled, "Get those machines to the Archangel while we prepare the other four machines for Transport." The convoy of trucks started towards their destination.

Yzak laughed and said, "It looks like the commander was right." He watched as the trucks came into view. Dearka said, "About what?" The dark skinned blonde didn't know why this was funny. Yzak said, "If you prod they will scurry out of hiding. Naturals are nothing if predictable." Eric shook his head and said, "There you go underestimating your enemy and that is going to get you killed one day." Yzak growled, "Shut up you natural lover." Eric grit his teeth and said, "I do not love naturals, nor do I hate them. They are people just like us." Athrun shook his head and said, "Enough. Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol you get these three machines. While Eric, Rusty, and Myself get the other three machines. Remember to disable the self destruct as soon as you get in." Everybody nodded and set off for their targets.

Kato's Lab:

The lab shook as everyone tried to brace themselves from falling. "Is everyone okay," asked Kira as Tolle said, "What was that a meteor strike?" Sai shook his, "I don't know but I don't think so." Mirillia was visibly shaken and Kira said, "We should get to the shelters." Everybody nodded and left the room as the power went out. "I guess we have to take the stairs," groaned Tolle as they entered the hallway. Miriallia said, "What's going on," as a group of people walked by. A man said, "ZAFT is attacking their are Mobile Suits in the colony." Everyone gasped and the blonde haired person took off down the hall. Kira yelled, "Hey come back." He said, "Get to the shelter you three." They nodded as he took off after the other person.

"Come back," He shouted at the person as the roof to the hall collapsed behind him blowing the hat off revealing the person to be a girl. He gasped in shock and said, "Your a girl?" The girl snapped, "What did you think I was? Well out with it." Kira shook his head and said, "I just thought... Nevermind. I guess we can't go back that way. Come on." he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the factory to go to a shelter.

Morgenroete's secret hangar:

James Black ran into the hangar housing the Black Hawk and the Shadow. He had his rifle at the ready and looking around, he knew he couldn't board the Shadow yet. Black was standing in cover. He knew they would come in here.

With Duel, Blitz and Buster:

Miguel Aiman took aim at the escort trucks and easily destroyed them blocking the convoy's path. Yzak, Nicol, and Dearka boarder their respective machines. Disabled the self destruct and began to look over the machines. "How can they expect to run these machines on this OS," Yzak noted and laughed lightly. He began rewriting the OS as the other two did the same. They activated their Phase Shift Armor and said, "Athrun we have the three machines hurry up so we can get out of here." Athrun said, "Okay we will be a few more minutes." The three soldiers nodded and started going over the specs of their machines. Miguel moved forward a little in case he was needed.

In the Factory District:

A fire fight broke out as Athrun, Rusty, and Eric proceeded to move towards the three machines. Athrun said, "Eric the Black Hawk must still be inside that hangar, go get it." Eric nodded taking several shots and rushing towards the hangar weaving in and out of cover. Athrun and Rusty continued to attack the EA soldiers and Morgenroete workers trying to uselessly protect the remaining machines.

Kira led the young lady out and they saw two Mobile Suits in their carriers. The girl fell to her knees and cried out, "Father I knwew you betrayed us all." Suddenly Murrue noticed them and fired at them. Kira pulled the girl out of the way and towards the shelter. He pushed a comm button and said, "Let us in. My friend and I need to get to safety." The response came and said, "Were full to capacity but we can take one more." Kira nodded and shoved the girl, she protested and said, "What are you..." The doors closed and Kira started to run to the other side. he noticed a ZAFt sniper and yelled, "Look out." The woman from earlier turned and killed him then looked at the young boy and said, " What are you doing here?" He said, "Im heading for a shel..." Suddenly an explosion tore through the left side of the block showing that there was nothing left there. Kira gasped and Murrue yelled, "Get down here." Kira nodded and jumped landing on the strike and rolling safely. He walked towards the woman as a bullet tore through her shoulder and she fell. Kira ran towards her.

Athrun fired a shot and noted it missed his intended mark by mere inches as he glanced at Rusty and saw a bullet tear through him and appear to kill him. He yelled out, "Rusty nooooo!" He turned his weapon and killed the offender that just killed his friend. He turned back to the current target and pulled out his knife rushing forward. He was about to strike when he frozeand whispered, "Kira?" Kira looked up and gasped as the EA officer fired several shots wide of her target due to her injury. Athrun jumped away and climbed into the Aegis. He set to work as he watched the woman push the kid into the cockpit of the strike. Unseen to Athrun a group of men began pulling one of the fallen bodies away from the battle and into a hangar.

The woman stood the strike up as Athrun began to rewrite the OS on his machine. He reported back to the other three, "Rusty has been killed, the strike was boarded by an Earth Forces officer. Eric hurry up and get the other machine." Miguel rushed forward, "I'll get that machine and escort Eric out you guys go back to the ship." Athrun and the others nodded and took off.

In the Secret Hangar:

Eric rushed through the door after setting off grenades and took out what seemed to be the other men. He rushed into the cockpit not noticing there were two machines in here. The black haired man set to work rewriting the OS. James Black got into the Shadow and deleted the original OS bringing up his hidden one that took the place of the other and finished his adjustments on the OS before activating it's phase shift armor turning the machine black with red trim and white joints. Eric looked out the cockpit and said, "Oh shit, guys we have a problem there is an unknown machine here and it's been activated." Athrun's voice came over the line and said, "Take it out if you can. If not get out of there and get back to the Vesalius." Eric nodded and decided he better not test his luck. He lanched and burst through the hangar door with the Shadow on his tail. James opened up with his igelstellungs. The Black Hawk dodged and took off for the exit.

Outside The Hangar:

James' pursuit was halted by three GINNs. He pulled out his dual beam sabers and took off towards the GINNs. He grit his teeth in frustration. "Why the hell is this happening," he asked rhetorically? The strike turned towards him and clumsily stood in attack position. "Pilot of the GAT-X 606 Shadow identify yourself," Murrue demanded. James said, "Lt. Ramius is that you? It's me James. Don't shoot." She sighed and said, "Why are you in that machine Mercenary?" James shook his head and said, "Protecting it from ZAFT, same as you. It's part of my job to ensure you get these machines to the EA." Murrue nodded and turned on the four GINNs bearing down on the two machines. James finished the touches of locking his machine and its OS from unwanted guests. He smiled and quietly said, "Thank you Kato." The mercenary than said, "Murrue Take the GINN on the left I'll deal with the other three." Murrue nodded and started clumsily walking towards the GINN. James shook his head as he smoothly took off for the other three firing his Igelstellungs causing the three to dodge and break their formation. Kira grit his teeth as Murrue was trying, but failing to control the strike. Miguel's GINN fired on the strike and murrue quickly activated the Phase shift but took a direct hit and was knockedoff balance due to the poor OS. Kira gasped as he saw Miriallia, Tolle, Kuzzey, and Sai running through the street.

"Move out of the way please," He said. Murrue hesitated and Kira said, "Move or we will die." She moved out of his way and he sat down rewriting the OS for the Strike and checking the weapons that he had to deal with and gasped as hesaw it was just Armor Schneider knives. He stood the Strike up and fired the Igelstellungs at the attacking GINN which stopped and said, "What's with this guy. He is suddenly moving better." He put his rifle away and drew his sword and started charging again. Kira drew his knives and ran towards the GINN as it came at him. The GINN swung his sword. Kira ducked under the swing and drove his knives into the GINN disablig the hydraulic drive in it. Miguel set the self destruct sequence and got out of the cockpit. Murrue noticed this and said, "Get away from that machine." Suddenly it blew up causing her to hit her head on the cockpit and get knocked out. Kira was breathing heavily as he braced for the explosion.

James stared at his three opponents beam sabers at the ready. The first GINN fired his rifle at the Shadow and James easily stepped a side before bursting forward towards the enemy GINN. Just before he got in striking distance he tried to sidestep and get to the side, but he wasn't used to a Mobile Suit yet and he boosted to far. He grit his teeth. "Dammit to much thrust." He backed off a bit and let the GINN come to him. The GINN seeing the more than happily accepted the duel and put his rifle away drawing his sword. He stepped up to the Shadow and took a fighting stance. James smirked and muttered, "Big mistake buddy, your in my area of expertise." The GINN without hesitation swung his sword towards the cockpit of the Shadow. James parried it as he was starting to get used to the controls somewhat. James returned the attack with his right beam saber and the GINN boosted back as the saber swung where he had been a second before. The two continued to exchange blows and pushing one another back. Black suddenly smiled and saw an opening. He headbutt the GINN shaking the pilot as a swift kick was delivered to its torso. James assaulted the GINN and took off it's left arm with his left saber and swung the right saber through the Ginns head. The pilot although blind with out it's camera began swinging violently and James cut the cockpit swing his sabers in an x dissecting the GINN. The other two pilots swore and fired potshots at the Shadow as they began to retreat back to the Vesalius. "Olor lets get back to the ship and regroup, we have no chance right now," Said Matthew. Olor nodded and continued the retreat. James fired one shot with his beam rifle and missed the GINN by a hair, leaving a singe mark on it's shoulder. He grit his teeth and looked around.

James sighed as he followed the Strike to the park. "You okay," He asked? Kira responded, "Yeah but the lady has been knocked out." Black nodded as they stopped there and he climbed out. "Hey kid open up and get down here." Kira nodded and climbed down as Miriallia, Sai, Tolle, and Kuzzey showed up. "Kira what were you doing in that thing." James said, "This can wait, we have to get her out of the cockpit." He pointed to Sai and Tolle. "Help Kira get her out so I can tend to her wounds." They nodded and three carefully and quickly got her out of the cockpit and James tended to her wounds. "Im going to go see if their are any striker packs for the strike, but before I do. I need some introductions." Kira nodded, "I'm Kira Yamato." Sai said, "Im Sai Argyle." Tolle said, "Im Tolle Koenig and this is my girlfriend Miriallia Haw." James nodded and Kuzzey said, "Im Kuzzey Buzkirk" Black looked around and said, "Its nice to meet you all. Although I wish circumstances were different. Sai come with me. I need you to get the truck with the two Shadow Packs." Sai nodded as the two took off.

A little while later Murrue woke up and groaned. She looked around as she stood up and took in the scene. She yelled, "get away from them machines." The kids got away from them as she pointed her gun at them and said, "What do you think your doing touching them." Suddenly James pulled back up in a truck followed by Sai in another. James and Sai climbed out and walked over. Sai joined his friends and James put his hand on Murrue's left shoulder and said, "it's okay. These are Sai Argyle, Miriallia Haw, Tolle Koenig, Kuzzey Buzkirk, and you met Kira already." She turned her gun on him and said, "I dont care and you had no business piloting either. Your a mercenary." James shook his head,narrowed his eyes, and said, "If I hadn't, you would be dead already." Murrue lowered her gun in defeat. "We can not let them leave yet," She said. James nodded, "I know and we can expect more fighting. ZAFT isn't just going to go away yet. Help Kira get the Launcher Striker on the Stirke." She nodded as they went to the stirke.

Suddenly an explosion tore a small hole in the colony wall and a moebius zero and a CGUE came in. Apparently they have been in a vicous dog fight as the Moebius was missing all of its gun barrels. James was on his way to the cockpit of his machine as soon as he heard the explosion. He climbed in and started it up. "Lets go Shadow we have work to do" He took off and started towards the battle not worrying about the Shadow Packs yet. He thought he had enough power left. He fired his igelstellungs at the CGUE and it broke off its attack. It stared down the Shadow. Rau grit his teeth and said, "So this unknown is what gave us trouble ensuring success of this mission. I'll deal with it in a moment." With that Rau cut off the linear guns, gun barrel leaving Mu defenseless. James sped between the two machines and stopped Rau's pursuit of the Zero. "Thanks whoever you are," Mu said. James smiled at the sound of Mu's voice. "Your welcome. My name is James Black," He said as Mu's eyes widened and muttered it can't be as he recognized the voice. He shook it off to let him concentrate on his current battle. James said, "Kira when you get a shot take it." Sitting in the cockpit Kira said, "Got it James."

Rau's CGUE took off towards the strike and raised his rifle firing off rounds at the group there. Kira knelt the Strike down blocking the shots. James grit his teeth and charged at the masked man. He swung his sabers at the machine and Rau deftly dodged and turned back to the Shadow. He drew his sword and charged swinging his sword at James. James parried the attack and delivered a kick to the mobile suits torso. Suddenly a massive explosion was set off as a ship came into sight. Rau sighed in frustration and said, "Not bad kid." Rau looked at the ship and muttered, "So they failed to sink the ship as well." James smirked and his eyes flashed angrily. He swung again at Rau and then heard Kira say, "Move James." James swung again as Kira fired the agni at Rau, James boosted to the side as Rau barely managed to dodge losing a leg and his left arm in the blast. Rau quickly fled the scene and returned to the Vesalius.

A/N I hope you liked it. I know the battles werent that good. they will get better as I get used to writing stories. Anyway. Why would Kato help James, What did James whisper to him, Why does Mu know James' voice, who is James, Why did ZAFT not know about the Shadow, and finally whose body was drug into the hangar and who drug the body. All this may be explained in the next chapter well at least maybe why Mu knows James anyway. As to why the two pilots took off despite outnumbering him two to one would be because they needed to regroup and think of a strategy. Please review. it will help me grow as a writer.


	4. Collapsing Land

Here is chapter two I will answer at least one of the questions I posted in the A/N at the end of chapter one.

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimers apply

Chapter two:

Collapsing Land

Aboard the Archangels catapault:

Kira set the Strike down and let Lieutenant Ramius and the others off his hand as James set the Shadow down with Melee Assault Pack mounted and he climbed out of the cockpit and down to the ground. Suddenly the entire crew that was left on the Archangel cameup and a raven haired woman stepped forward. "Lt. Ramius its good to see your safe," said the woman. "You too Ensign Badgiruel," came the response to her. Suddenly she said, "Why is a kid in the Strike?" She turned to James and finished her sentence, "and you a mercenaryin the Shadow." James sighed and said, "I am doing my job Natarle. Where is the captain and the pilots?" She frowned and said, "The pilots are..." Just then a blonde haired man came walking onto the catapault and said, "What a surprise this is to see your alive after what happened to you almost a year ago. You said your name was James right? Thats quite a scar you got." The man nodded and said, "Yes James Black I work for Serpent's Tail." Mu laughed and said, "I mean no disrespect when I say I don't believe you." James looked at him confused and said, "Why is that sir?" Mu walked up to him and said, "Because you sound just like a friend's son of mine. His son was 'Killed' in a battle and my friend was killed at Endymion by Rau Le Creuset." James' eyes narrowed angrily, but he quickly shook it off before anyone noticed. Unfortunately Mu saw this and said, "Drop the act kid. I know who you are." Suddenly every armed soldier trained their weapons on James. He sighed and said, "Dammit Mu, why couldn't you let it sleep until we were alone? Fine, I am former Lieutenant Commander Ryan Ford of the Earth Forces. I am no longer with the EA as they couldn't stand having another Coordinator being an ace and a very good one at that. So they tried to kill me with a 'Stray' missile." He shook his head in anger at that and said, "Mu I'm sorry about my father's death I know you two were as close as brothers." Mu nodded and said, "I'm the one who should be sorry I failed to protect him." James held up his hand and said, "I hate pity." Murrue said, "So why are you here Ryan?" He said, "I told you I work for Serpent's Tail and Morgenroete needed a mercenary so I volunteered for the job." Looking up at the Shadow and said, "I took the job to get a hold of this baby which is now the property of Serpent's Tail and my personal machine. You try to touch it and look at OS and you will get nowhere. The security on this machine is so tight that you could spend the next hundred years trying to get through a small portion of the layers of security. I took this machine as payment for this and the other three scars on my body." He pointed to the scar on his face as he said that and added, "Also as payment for the attempt on my life. Try and take it back and I will kill you am I understood? Also until I tell you otherwise call me jamesam I understood?" Murrue and the others noted the poison in his voice and nodded she said, "Men lower your weapons and everyone leave the Shadow alone as we still need his help." They lowered their weapons and nodded.

Mu said, "Who is in charge here?" Natarle replied, "Most of the ships crew was killed in the blast so that would put Lt. Ramius in charge." Murrue gasped and said, "Me?" Natarle nodded and Mu sighed, "What a great mess this is. I would like to request permission to join this ship as the escort fleet has been wiped out." Murrue nodded "permission granted." He suddenly turned to Kira and said, "Your a coordinator arent you?" Kira nodded as several armed guards again raised their weapons. James growled and said, "Lower your weapons dammit. the enemy is out there not in here." They did so. James led the teens into the ship and to a special quarters and told them to stay here. He then left and went to the bridge. The others sat there and talked amongst themselves.

Vesalius:

Rau said, "Ades we have to continue pursuing this ship and take it and its mobile suits out. They could prove dangerous." Ades nodded and said, "Right. What do you want to do?" Rau told him his plan.

Hangar of the Vesalius:

Dearka said, "D equipment I hear." Yzak snorted, "Serves them right." Nicol sighed as Eric said, "Creuset wont get away with this if Heliopolis is destroyed." They all nodded even Yzak realizing the devastation that could happen. He sighed as he turned to sit down.

Archangel Bridge:

James sat in a seat looking at the three EA officers and said,"So what is the plan?" Murrue looked at Mu and then Natalre and said, "We were kind of hoping you had a plan." Black laughed and jokingly said, "I have a few, but none of the include this ship or me staying with it." Mu shook his head and said, "Same old person. You can change the look, but not the personality. This is serious." James narrowed his eyes and said, "I know which is why I was trying to lighten the mood. On a serious note. We can expect an attack and soon. We need to get away from the colony before we cause anymore damage." The other three nodded, "easier said than done," Natarle exclaimed. James laughed, "I know. What are we going to do about the Strike. I can't very well pilot two machines at once." Murrue's face hardened and said, "We will have to rely on Kira if we can." Mu shook his head, "You think he will go for it?" Black looked around the bridge. He closed his eyes in thought and said, "I doubt it. The only way to appeal to him, will be to make him see that all he is doing is protecting his friends. That is still a long shot though. The kid hates fighting a lot. I hope he can get over it and realize that fighting doesn't mean he has to kill." Murrue nodded and said, "I will go talk to him." She got up and left.

James turned to Mu and said, "So your Moebius is out for a while?" Mu nodded, "Damn Creuset. I can't top him." James laughed, "What do you expect he is in a Mobile Suit and your in a Mobile Armor. His machine is superior, but you have survived whichshows your skills Lieutenant." Mu nodded. Suddenly a black haired young lady walked up and said, "Ensign Badgiruel, I am sorry I am late reporting for duty, but I was knocked unconcious during the attack and came to recently and the doctor just cleared me to return to duty." Natarle looked up and said, "Who are you?" The green eyed girl looked at her apologetically, then snapped to attention and saluted, "Crewman Roxanne Smythe reporting for duty, I was the newest addition to the crew. I arrived two days ago. I am supposed to be the combat coordinator for the ships mobile suits and mobile armors." James whistled and said, "That's quite a knot you got there." Roxanne jumped and said, "is it that noticeable?" She tried to cover it up and Black laughed and replied, "I am sorry for pointing it out. No it's not. It's really not that bad and you still look pretty so it doesn't detract from that." After he said that he got up and walked off the bridge leaving her stuttering and blushing bright red. Natarle said, "Roxanne your post is over here." She led the still blushing girl to her seat. Mu shook his head and said, "Sorry about James, Roxanne. he is a mercenary and shouldn't be with the ship long." Roxanne nodded and said, "It's okay and can everyone please call me Roxy. I hate hearing my full name I feel like I am in trouble when I hear it." She took her seat and began going over everything she learned in training.

Crew Quarters:

Kira shouted, "No I won't do it. I didn't ask for this and I don't want it." His hands were balled into fists and shaking. Suddenly Mu's face appeared on the screen. "Lieutenant you are needed on the bridge. We have enemy suits coming in. You have to take command." Murrue looked at him in shock and said, "Me. Why me?" La Flaga said, "I have seniority, but I don't know the first thing about this ship." Murrue nodded and said, "Okay. is your Zero ready?" Mu shook his head, "No." She said, "Then please take CIC and have Black launch the Shadow." Mu nodded. Suddenly Kira said, "You people aren't being fair. This isn't our wa.. I will do it, but only to protect my friends." With that he took off for the hangar.

In the Hangar:

James stood there as the Melee Assault Pack was reattached to his machine and smiled at it. Just then Kira appeared next to him. "What are we dealing with R... Sorry James." James turned and shook his head. He replied, "I have no idea yet. Won't know until we go to launch." With that the twenty two year old climbed into his machine. "Mount up Kira, we have to launch real soon." Kira nodded and said, "Okay." He climbed into the Strike and waited for their order to launch. "James were you nervous your first battle?" James laughed and said, "Yeah, my father had to shake me out of my thoughts to get me to launch. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either lying or insane." Kira nodded and said, "Okay."

Outside:

Three GINNs two equipped with D equipment were making their way towards the Archangel followed by the Aegis and the Blitz. Athrun shook his head and said, "Nicol what are you doing?" Nicol said, "I am helping you Athrun. Besides we have to stop this ship. I don't know about the Strike, but the Shadow seems like it will be very dangerous for us if we let it survive." Athrun sighed, "Okay keep close to and protect those two GINNs." Nicol nodded. Miguel said, "Athrun show us what made you defy orders." Athrun nodded and said, "Right lets end this."

Archangel Hangar:

James sat in his cockpit awaiting orders. Suddenly Roxanne's face appeared on screen. "James you have the MAP pack attached so be careful." She turned red again thinking about what he said earlier. James said, "I will Roxanne. Oh don't look to deep into what I said earlier. I didn't mean anything by it and I wasn't trying to make you blush. I was simply stating a fact." Roxanne nodded and said, "Oh okay I won't then and please call me Roxy." He looked into her green eyes and nodded. The young lady said, "Black your clear for launch." James nodded. "James Black, Shadow Gundam heading into battle." With that the Shadow was launched from the ship. He stopped and began assessing the situation.

Kira was lost in thought when Roxy's face appeared and startled him. "Kira we equipped the Strike with the sword striker pack, which is a lot like the Shadow's Melee pack but you have a beam boomerang as well as the Schwert Gewehr. Where the Shadow has two beam beam boomerangs as well as an antiship sword and two extra beam sabers aside from the two that are standard equipment on it and a rocket anchor to pull it's enemies close to it. Your clear for launch." Kira nodded and said, "Kira Yamato Strike Launching" The Strike was launched off the ship and stopped by the Shadow.

Outside:

James took note of the situation. "Kira you take on the Aegis and that one GINN. I'll take the other two GINNs and the Blitz." Kira nodded and drew his Schwert Gewehr. He took off for the Aegis as James glided into the path of the three charging machines and drew a beam saber and one of his beam boomerangs, holding it like a dagger for now. Nicol sighed and thought, 'Does god hate me or something?' He tightened his grip on his machine's controls and stared at the Shadow. The two heavily armed GINNs kept on target and heading for the Archangel. James grit his teeth and said, "Kira be careful, this is going to get hairy." One of the GINNs fired off two of their large missiles and several smaller one's. James drew his beam rifle after tossing his boomerang at the GINN that fired. It easily dodged and James destroyed one of the larger missiles and the Archangel destroyed all the smaller one's, but had to evade the large one. It struck the central shaft and James grit his teeth and yelled, "Stop it dammit. Your going to destroy this place." He fired several bursts from his beam rifle, then put it away and caught the boomerang he threw earlier. He charged the GINN that just fired and swung his beam saber at it as he dodged a shot from the GINN. The GINN dodged and moved to the side. James grinned as he knew it was going to move that way as he would have done it. James boosted to the side and slashed through the cockpit and the GINN fired of it's remaining payload. The GINN then exploded and James took off after the missile, bu tthe Archangel had already destroyed them. James turned on the last oneas his alarms went off and barely raised his beam boomerang holding it as a dagger and stopped the Blitz's saber from striking him. "Dammit, boy get out of my way." Nicol laughed at that comment and swung again, but this time he had to stop his swing and dodge a kick aimed at his torso. James continued his assault as he swung his beam saber and threw his boomerang point blank. Nicol blocked the saber with his own and barely moved to the side as the boomerang scraped into the armor of his left arm. Nicol growled, "Your good, but not good enough." The Blitz disappeared from sight and backed away. James smirked and started looking around. "Hey boy, I knew about that do you forget I've been watching these machine get built." James suddenly put his saber away and drew his beam rifle. He fired many shots in a spread shot formation to cover where the Blitz could be.

With Kira:

Kira stopped in front of the GINN and looked at his as he took a deep breath. "Why are you doing this," He asked rhetorically. The GINN started firing its rifle at the Strike. Kira easily evaded the shot and fired his igelstellungs at the GINN who evaded. "Athrun get behind him, "Miguel said. Athrun moved the Aegis behind the Strike. Kira sighed and pulled his anit-ship sword out and stared at the GINN. Miguel began to charge at the Strike and pulled his sword out and Kira blocked it as the GINN backed off and charged again. The two kept delivering and parrying each others blows. Kira grit his teeth as the Aegis stayed out of it, but stayed where he was to keep Kira from retreating. He was gaining confidence with every swing. He suddenly pulled out and threw his boomerang at Miguel. Miguel easily dodged it and said, "You missed." The boomerang suddenly came back and took off theGINNs right leg. "What the," Miguel said in shock as the Strike charged and swung his sword at the GINN. Miguel raised his sword to block the attack, his sword snapped in half as the Schwert Gewehr was slowed enough to only dent the GINNs torso. Miguel grit his teeth and said, "I'm not going to lose to you, you natural." He pulled the rifle out as the Strike raised its sword getting ready to strike again. Miguel fired his rifle at the Strike as Kira kept charging remembering earlier that rounds did little to no damage and swung his sword at the cockpit. The GINN was destroyed as it was bisected a mere five inches under the cockpit. Athrun yelled, "Miguel noooooooooo!" The debris from the GINN struck the ground. That was another friend he had just lost. He fired at the Strike and said, "Kira, Kira Yamato is that you?" Kira gasped, "Athrun, Athrun Zala?" Athrun was shocked, "So it is you. Why are you in that machine?"

With James and Nicol:

Nicol grit his teeth and the Blitz reappeared with its shield raised blocking the shots. "The name is Nicol, Nicol Amalfi not boy." James laughed, "Sorry Nicol I meant no offense, I am James Black. I would say its an honor to meet you, but in present circumstances that would be a lie. It is however nice to meet you." Nicol laughed as the older man spoke the truth. "Yeah it would be an honor if it was off the battlefield," he said in agreement. The two charged each other and parried each other's strikes fromtheir beam sabers. Suddenly the other GINN was lanced in half by a shot from the Archangel, but the shot continued and destroyed the central shaft. Mu shouted, "Oh shit. that's not good." Heliopolis began to collapse and the vacuum that was formed pulled the Two machines apart. "Nooooooo," Yelled Nicol in surprise as he was forced away from the Shadow. James grunted as he was forced back into his seat and passed out from the sheer force of being pulled in the opposite direction he was just charging. Athrun and Kira were pulled back away from each other as well. Athrun yelled, "Kiraaaa!" Kira let out a gasp of shock as he was pulled back.

A little while later:

"X 10...ke...GAT...Dow...co..in.."Natarle said trying to reach both pilots. Kira shook his head and boosted slowly towards the Archangel and said, "Archangel this is the Strike." Natarle let out a sigh of relief and said, "Can you make it back?" Kira nodded and said, "Yes I am on my way." Kira proceeded to make his way to the Archangel. He got three quarters of the way there when he saw a flashing light. He went towards it and noticed a damaged lifeboat and brought it to the ship and said, "Archangel open up. I have a damaged lifeboat, im bringing it on. Natarle said, "What? Who gave you permission to do that." Kira was shocked, "What I am not going to leave it here. The people on board won't make it unless I do." Natarle went to retort and Murrue said, "Enough, bring it on. We don't have any time to waste. Continue trying to reach the Shadow." Kira brought it on board.

He parked the Strike in it's cradle. Then the crew opened the hatch to the lifeboat and outcame a red haired blue eyed girl in a pink dressed. "Kira your here? Where are we?" She looked around and said, "Are we on a ZAFT ship?" Kira said, "No this is an Earth Forces vessel and the Mobile Suit belongs to the Earth Alliance as well. Oh Sai is here too." Flay nodded and said, "He is? Can we go see him?" Kira nodded and led her off towards the quarters.

A/N: I know this is a little shorter but I was struck by an idea and decided to end it here so I can pick up the next chapter there. Mwahahahahahaha... cough... hackneed to work on my evil laugh. So what happened to the Shadow? Why hasn't it returned to the ship? Find out next time... Maybe.

I hope you liked the battle scenes and please review.


	5. Serpent's Strike

Thanks again To EmperorDraco7 for beta reading my story and giving me your Feedback

Foreword: This chapter picks up at the end of the last battle, with subsequent destruction of Heliopolis. The Shadow is still missing, so where is it?

Disclaimer: i don't own Anything except forRyan Black The Shadow, Eric Torrico, The Black Hawk, and Roxanne Smythe

Chapter Three:

Serpent's Strike

Newly Formed Heliopolis Debris Field:

James groaned as he came to. "Someone get the License plate to that Space Colony that hit me." He rubbed his head and shook the fogginess from his head and began to assess the situation. His eyes widened in horror as he realized he failed to keep the colony safe. The man punched the screen of his machine and noticed a beacon light that was flashing. He flew over and said, "Well, well, well What do we have here?" He saw the cockpit of a destroyed GINN. Ryan grabbed it and boosted to the opposite side of the debris belt. He tried to find the comm frequency of the machine. "Pilot of the GINN are you alive?" He tapped the cockpit and The young blonde inside groaned and heard someone ask if he was okay. He groaned again in pain and said, "Yes I am? Where am I?" The Shadow took off to the Ship that was coming into sight. James smiled and said, "I am taking you somewhere to get help. Are you injured?" The younger pilot said, "Other than a splitting headache I feel fine." Then he noticed blood drip into his face. "I am bleeding." He grimaced and said, "The name is Miguel Aiman not pilot by the way. Where are you taking me?" James nodded and said. "I am James Black a mercenary from Serpent's Tail working for Morgenroete. I am taking you to our HQ to get treated. Get some rest we are almost to the ship now." Miguel nodded, "But what will happen to me after that?" James said, "We will talk later. Rest for now." "Okay," Miguel said in defeat and closed his eyes as the Shadow boarded the unknown ship. The doctors took Miguel to the infirmary and began treating him. Ryan watched him go and sighed. Just then a man he knew came up and said, "Ah Ryan welcome back to the ship." Ryan smiled and shook his. "Ah Professor Kato it is good to see you again. What are you doing here?" Kato laughed and said, "Good to see you too, I was on my way back from seeing Un No for you. When we picked up your encrypted message. We were the closest ship to will be at HQ in two hours." Ryan nodded and said, "Good so why did you see Master Un No for me? I havent seen him in four years." Professor Kato smiled and pointed to a package carefully strapped to the wall and said, "Something for us to hardwire to the Shadow, for your use as I know how much you like them." Ryan smiled and said, "Is that what I think it is?" The older man said, "Yes it is your new Gerbera Strait Katana." Ryan whistled and said, "We will take care of it when we get back to the base." Kato nodded.

In the Infirmary:

Miguel woke up with his head bandaged and his arm in a sling. He looked at the other bed and had a feeling of familiarity come over him, but couldn't figure out why. He stood up and the doctor did some final checks and said, "Ryan is waiting for you." Miguel raised his eyebrows. "Who?" The doctor said, "Oh sorry I mean James is waiting for you in the hangar." Miguel nodded as two armed gurads led him to the Hangar. The doctor turned his attention to the young man still on the bed and continued to examine his vitals and the wound in his shoulder. He shook his head and said, "I hope you survive my boy, you have the potential that Master Ryan is looking for." The boy groaned and shifted slightly. The doc said, "Easy young man. You had quite the day today."

Hangar:

Ryan stood there with his arms crossed and his military uniform's sleeves once again rolled up past his elbows as he has always done before becoming James. He left them down to cover his tattoos on his arms. Ryan dropped his arms. The tattoos on his right forearm were a katana broken in four pieces that had a banner saying Death Before Dishonor, the other was a Dragon coiled around his arm breathing fire around a cross on his right bicep that said RIP Dad. His Left fore arm had a Vampyre Ankh(A gothic version of an ancient egyptian ankh.) On his left bicep was a tasmanian devil in a grim reaper outfit. Then on the entire length of his left arm was covered in dark clouds. Miguel walked in and said, "James you were looking for me." James smiled and said, "My name is Ryan Ford former Lieutenant Commander of the Earth Alliance, thought dead and now returned. My own side tried to kill me." Miguel gasped, "But why would they try to do that?" Ryan turned to him after pulling his contacts out and revealing his Hazel eyes. Miguel took a second look and understood what it was he did. Ryan said, "Because I am a coordinator." Miguel nodded and said, "Oh okay." Ryan rubbed his hair and said, "I can't wait for this dye to fade out." Miguel laughed and said, "What did you want me for?" Ryan looked at him and said, "ZAFT will no doubt think you were KIA after the Aegis gets back on the ship, So I have a proposition for you the Magic Bullet of Dusk. But before that what was your reason for joining ZAFT?" Miguel nodded and said, "I joined to help pay for my brothers hospital bills." Ryan smiled and said, "That is a noble cause to fight for. Your brothers hospital bills will be paid for and he will be brought from the PLANTs with your family to the HQ of Serpent's Tail for their protection. I ask you to join Serpent's Tail and join my personal squad. The ShadowWolf Squad." Miguel raised his eyebrows and said, "Join you? How can you guarantee that won't charge me as a traitor." Ryan handed him a sheet of paper. "This is a signed agreement by all major powers with Terminal and Serpent's Tail, saying that they will not pursue any soldiers deciding to join either of these two "corporation's"" Miguel nodded and held out his good hand. "I will do it for my brother and family." Ryan nodded and said, "Then when we get to the HQ in a little bit. We will do the paper work and get you a new machine." Miguel nodded and smiled. "Thanks for saving me Ryan." Ryan nodded and said, "It was nothing."

Heliopolis Debris Field:

Athrun sat there in disbelief at what happened and made his way back to the ship and said, "Miguel hasbeen killed by the Strike." Nicol was shocked to hear that and deeply saddened. "That makes Rusty, Miguel, Matthew, and Olor. Was this worth the loss of four friends," He asked Athrun. Athrun shook his head and said, "I dont know. But i dont think so." They landed on the ship and got out of their machines.

Two Hours Later:

A ship was docking in the docking bay of the giant base. Ryan stood there with Miguel and said, "You ready?" Miguel nodded and said, "Yes I am." The older man led the young one off the ship followed by the dr and the wounded boy behind them. They took the boy to the infirmary at the base. Ryan said, "Doc good luck and keep him safe please. The potential he possesses is as great as Miguel's here." The doc nodded and Miguel turned to Ryan, "What does that mean?" Ryan laughed and said, "Miguel my boy I look for specific qualities in any person I pick for my squad. You and that young man are the first two members of my squad." Miguel nodded and puffed his chest a little swelling with pride at being handpicked for this squad. Miguel said, "So who is that young man?" Ryan laughed andsaid, "You will find out after he fully heals." Miguel nods and said, "Okay. I will wait then." Ryan smiled. He thought, 'This young man has a lot of passion and fire. Let's hope his abilities develop in time.'

With the Shadow:

Professor Kato was busy gettingthe Katana mounted to the Shadow when a damaged Orange GINN. "Ryan come over here please," said the Professor. Ryan and Miguel walked over to the professor and Ryan said, "What can I help you with Kato?" Kato said, "This machine was just delivered by a scout of ours. It was found amongst the debris of a space battle several hours from Heliopolis." Miguel gasped as he saw the machine and said, "That is my personal machine. The GINN Aiman custom. It was given to me when I earned my nickname." Ryan smiled and said, "Men get this machine up and running please." They respondedwith a chorus of, "Yes sir." The crew set to work. Miguel began telling the crew what special adjustments were made to the machine so they could set it to the way it was. Ryan watched the work on the Shadow and said, "Kato did you get into the OS okay?" Kato nodded and said, "Thanks for allowing me to guess at the password." Ryan laughed and said, "No one would have ever thought of it as I was supposedly killed at Carpenteria." The professor nodded and smiled. Ryan said, "So everything is at least useable? I will make the adjustments on the fly in the field." After that he left and went to the infirmary.

Infirmary:

Five minutes later Ryan was sitting in the infirmary thinking as he was watching the young man lay there fighting for his life. He took note of the bandages over the young mans left shoulder where the bullet tore through his shoulder.

_Flashback: Ryan was fighting the DINN. Suddenly a Missile locked onto him and he began trying to shake it off. He flew around and dived close to the ocean. Just as the missile was about to strike he blew the cockpit hatch and fell into the ocean. He hit the water hard and felt his left shoulder blade shatter and his right shoulder dislocate as the visor on his helmet shattered and gashed his face really bad. As he went under the water he sunk for a moment before passing out. The next thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital bed covered in bandages and in a lot of pain. He felt the sharp pain in his arms as he tried to sit up. He noticed stitches in his arms and told the doctors to leave the scars._

_End Flashback:_

Ryan opened his eyes and smiled at the reddish brown haired kid as he knew he would pull through. He looked int he mirror and frowned at his hair. Then looked at the scar on his face and his eyed narrowed.

Archangel:

Roxanne was still trying to reach the Shadow. "GAT-X 606 Shadow come in. James are you there? James answer me." Roxy glanced at Murrue and said, "Ma'am I think the debris is interfering with..." Suddenly a message was incoming. The radio crewman said, "Ma'am incoming message the person requests you specifically." She nodded and stood going over. She took the headset and said, "Murrue Ramius here." Ryan smiled, "Murrue it is good to hear your voice. I am fine. I am not in the Debris field. I returned to Serpent's Tail HQ to get some medical attention for a pilot I rescued and to get some upgrades done to the Shadow. I will be back in three hours. You can sit still or you can head for Artemis. Either way I will hook up with Archangel again and I will have a squad member of mine accompanying me this time." Murrue let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank goodness your okay Ry.. I mean James." James said, "Call me Ryan from here on out. It is time for James to slip in to the depths of space and it is time for the ShadowWolf to start his great Hunt." Murrue smiled and said, "Okay Ryan. We will head for Artemis. I hope you get here before we get there." He said, "Dont worry I will Murrue. My job isn't finished yet." With that he closed the comm. Murrue smiled and said, "Ryan is fine. He will be here in three hours. Set course for Artemis. Fire a decoy towards Artemis and then launch to go in that direction. We will come up behind them and attack them. We will ambush them and keep them on their toes. Lieutenant La Flaga you will go after the Vesalius by launching just before we get close and you will use the debris to hide. You are to damage the ship. Kira you need to try and hold your own against the Aegis, Blitz, Buster, Duel, and Black Hawk." Kira nodded unsure of himself. "I will try my best." Roxanne looked at Murrue and said, "Why would James just abandon us when we need him?" Murrue said, "His name is Ryan Ford and he didnt abandon us he need to get a pilot back to Serpent's Tail." Roxy said, "Wait as in the ShadowWolf of Carpenteria? The man that was killed by that DINN?" Murrue laughed and said, "If you believe that propaganda then yes." Roxy said, "He was a hero in my book, but what do you mean propaganda?" Murrue shook her head and said, "Ask him when he gets here." Roxy nodded.

Serpent's Tail Hangar two Hours later:

Ryan was standing there in his pilot suit that was only covering from his waist down. He had white tank top on that was stretched due to his well toned and battle hardened body that revealed he had several more tattoos that were covered. "Are both machines and the shuttle ready for launch," he asked. Kato said, "Yes it will have you near the Archangel in an hour." Ryan nodded and said, "Miguel suit up we are heading out. We have to meet up with the Archangel. I need to know. Are you one hundred percent sure you want to do this?" Miguel looked at him and said, "Yes I am ready to fight anyone including my friends on the Vesalius. I won't dishonor them by holding back." Ryan looked at him and said, "If you can help it try not to damage their cockpits and they will survive." The young man said, "Okay." With that they finished getting changed and climbed on board their machines in the shuttle." Ryan said, "We are moving out. I'll be in touch when I get the chance." With that the shuttle launched and they were on their way to the Archangel. "Miguel you nervous about this at all," Ryan asked. Miguel laughed and said, "Sir I am, but it won't last long." Ryan smiled and said, "Good. I need to know you have my back out there." The younger man nodded and replied, "Of course ShadowWolf. I will always have your back. You saved my life." The older man smiled and nodded.

A/N Why is Kato helping Serpent's Tail still? It seems he has an agenda of his own with helping Ryan or is he a member?. These will be answered in later chapters. Who is the mysterious kid that they are hoping pulls through, Why is the Archangel setting up an ambush instead of making a run for it? Will Ryan and Miguel make it to the archangel in time? I know this chapter is short but I wanted to focus on James/Ryan and Miguel's interactions in this review


	6. Silent Run

A/N I wont bore you with a long description. this chapter deals with Archangel's subsequent run to Artemis and Ryan's return to the Archangel. Thanks to EmperorDraco7 for beta reading.

Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply.

Chapter Four:

Silent Run

Archangel:

Kira brought Flay to the mess hall where their frieds were eating. Flay ran over to Sai and said, "Hey there Sai, I am fine as you can see." Sai was shocked to see Flay and said, "I am glad your okay, but why are you here?" Kira said, "She was on board the lifepod I brought aboard because it was damaged." Sai nodded and said, "Oh well I am glad you brought it on board then." Kira nodded. His other friends were talking so he decided to go for a walk. He left the mess hall.

Kira walked through the halls and thought _'I killed a man. Why did he have to die? Why did this war have to come to our front yard.' _Kira frowned as he clenched his fist and his hands started shaking as he became a little depressed at the thought and the fact that it was a friend of Athrun's made it worse. "Athrun will never forgive me," he said sadly. A tear fell down his cheek. _'This whole thing is messed up. Why did we have to get involved and now Heliopolis is gone.' _The young coordinator frowned as he kept wandering the halls, when he ran into Roxy and watched what she was doing. Roxy was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. She was stretching her muscles. She stopped and set off into a series of pirouettes and turns as she danced around the observation deck listening to her favorite slow music. The nineteen year old natural wished she had a partner, but knew no one would join her. She continued to dance and spin gracefully as Kira watched her in amazement that someone could move this graceful. He forgot about his depression and got lost in watching her.

The sweat was glistening off Roxy as she continued dancing and she began to smile as her eyes were closed. She forgot all about where she was as she began to do jumps and moves she learned in ballet. The young man couldn't help, but watch as she danced. He forgot about the war by watching her dance. Kira smiled as he sat down quietly. Roxy stopped, turned her music off, and took out the earbuds. Kira clapped and said, "That was amazing Roxanne." She turned and "Eep" was the sound she made as she shrunk against the wall. "I...I...I di..di..didn't...s..s..se..y..y..you.. . You..scared me Kira." Kira said, "Sorry Roxanne. You are really good." Her breathing heavily labored and her hand on her heart she stammered, "I..Its ok..ay. This room was empty so I figured I could dance here. As the workout room is small." Kira nodded and said, "Its okay, I am sorry to have disturbed you." The young green eyed woman said, "It's okay I was done." With that she tore out of the room and ran to her quarters, with her face bright red. Kira shook his head, "She is shy," he said to himself.

Roxy's Quarters:

The young woman went into the bathroom and climbed in the shower and let the warm relaxing water run over her muscles. She smiled and said, "Ah that is better. Why did he have to see me, when I was doing that? The room was empty. I didn't want anyone to see me move like that." She sighed as thought's of the day came back to her. She thought, _'First that mercenary compliments me and makes me look weak in front of Aunt Natarle. Oh no noe can that she is my aunt, not yet at least. What was that mercenaries problem? Does he think he can get any woman and why would he compliment her and then later tell her not to read into. Why do I even care what that jack ass thinks? He will be leaving soon. So I wont have to deal with him for long. James probably isn't even coming back to the Archangel now.' _She washed her hair and body and got out. She dried and dressed in her uniform for her shift. Ms. Smythe left for the bridge. Roxanne got into her seat and relieved Miriallia of her combat coordinator duties for the evening so she could eat and sleep.

Shuttle to the Archangel:

Ryan sat there, "Miguel we will be there in fifteen minutes." The younger coordinator nodded and said, "Okay." The two men sat there in their seat and stared out there windows. "So when we get to the Archangel I need you to talk to the pilot of the Strike and explain to him, that you bear him no ill will," Ryan said. "Miguel laughed and said, "That will be easy as I don't bear him any ill will, he was following orders. Ryan why did you select me?" Ryan knew this was coming and said, "I will tell you soon, but now is not the time." Miguel nodded and said, "Okay."

The Archangel came into view and they hailed the ship. "Archangel come in. I repeat Archangel come in," Ryan said. Roxy Smythe said, "This is the Archangel. Identify yourself." Ford said, "Tell Murrue, The ShadowWolf is returning." Roxanne had a confused look on her face and thought, _'Why is he refering to himself as a person who I know to be dead? They talked about him all the time at the academy. He made himself a hero and an ace in his first battle where he was killed'_, "Captain the ShadowWolf is returning." Murrue gave her a puzzled look as she heard that, "Who is the ShadowWolf?" Mu jumped up and gentlytook the radio from Smythe and said, "Ryan welcome back, your early. We didn't expect you until after we engaged ZAFT with our ambush." Roxanne's eyes widened as she heard the name of the man she thought of as a dead hero. Ryan thought, _'Interesting I would have done the same thing.' _Murrue looked at Mu and said, "It's Ryan? Why didn't he just say that?"

Mu shook his head and said, "Think about it Murrue. Ryan Ford was supposedly killed at Carpenteria, why would he use a nickname instead. Most people who intercept this transmission and will think it a code word meaning something like a big ace is returning from recon or something. Then almost a year later you turn up and return from the dead? Who isn't going to be suspicious. The only reason I am not is because I have known him since he left the academy. His voice and facial features areengraved in my mind. I have stared at pictures of him and his father for the past several months. Ryan from what I remembered was deadly loyal to his friends and those he cared about and was a very honorable man who always took responsibility for his actions. He was young, but one of the most naturally gifted pilot's I have ever seen. He shot down six DINNs in that first battle of his at Carpenteria before the EA shot him down with that missile. John Ford was a great man and didn't deserve the death he got." Mu had an angry look on his face.

Roxy snapped, "Where is the proof that the EA killed him and if he was such a great pilot how did he get shot down by a DINN,Mu? He was supposed to be the best pilot the EA had and was a sure person to end this war. He failed and let himself get killed. Why would the EA shoot him down?" Tears rolled down her cheek and she didn't know why. Mu snapped and said, "You want proof? Proof? I will give you proof in fifteen minutes when he gets here. As to letting himself get killed. He had no way of getting away from the missile. Why would he want to die. He wanted nothing more than to end this war. Why would they want to kill him, one reason. Ryan is a coordinator. Don't talk as if you knew him. You didn't princess." Adding that last line with venom in his voice. "Ryan Ford is a true hero and one of the most trustworthy people I know." Roxy cringed in fear as Mu raised his voice her. She had fear in her eyes and guilt as well as she knew he was right. She had no right to judging the man she considered a hero secretly. Mu stormed out and went to the hangar. _'Man what is that girls problem. bad mouthing a true hero like that. Doesn't she realize the true hero's leave it all on the battlefield? Sometimes even laying their lives down to protect those he loves and cares about.'_

Hangar:

The shuttle boarded the Archangel and the Shadow and Custom Orange GINN were put into the catapults. Ryan walked into the hangar and saw Mu walk in. "Hey Mu it's good to see you again." Mu smiled and replied as the two men shook head and said, "Yes it is good to see you too, Ry... er James." Ryan shook his head and said, "James Black was killed at Heliopolis and Ryan Ford was reborn from the Ashes and screams of those that died." To signify ths he took the contacts out and threw them away. Ryan wet his hair and the black temporary hair dye came out of it as well as his beard. He smiled and said, "Ah that's better." Mu laughed and said, "Well welcome back to the land of the living ShadowWolf." Ryan laughed and said, "Thanks. Oh Mu this is Miguel Aiman. He is the reason I didn't return to the Archangel right away." Mu shook his hand and said, "Can you count on him." Miguel said, "He can, you can, and this ship can, I will allow no harm to come to this ship. I will also fight ZAFT to protect this ship." Mu smiled and said, "I like him. Come on take Miguel to his quarters and come to the bridge." Ryan nodded. Miguel sighed, "Why am I being left out." Ryan said, "because as the leader of this mission it is my job to tell you what planswe have come up with." Miguel nodded, "Okay Ryan I trust you." Ryan smiled. Mu said, "Oh look out for Roxy. She just went at it with me."

Five minutes later:

Ryan walked onto the bridge and everyone turned to them. Murrue said, "Ryan Ford?" Roxy looked up and gasped, "Mu was telling the truth, that can't be. Y-y-your d-d-dead." Ford shook his head and said, "Are you going to stutter everytime I talk to you. Yes Mu was telling the truth and maybe more than he should have if he told you what really 'killed' me." Roxy just stared at him in shock. She couldn't this man was the one she had admired since she heard his story, Roxanne said, "But why didn't you tell your side of the story?" Ryan snorted and said, "What and call the EA liars? The truth will come out and sooner than they think. I began working for Serpent's Tail shortly after that battle and was hired by Morgenroete to watch over the construction of the G-Weapons. I used that cover to help me steal the Shadow as repayment for this scar," pulled his shirt off, points to the scar on his right shoulder and his left shoulder blade," These scars and the attempt on my life. if you have a problem with it, keep it to yourself." He put his shirt back on and rolled the sleeves back up past his elbows.

Roxy gasped at the damage caused to his body. "Where did they come from. What part of the accident?" Ryan turned to her and said, "When my body was tossed across the top of the ocean dislocating my shoulder then shattering it in five places and breaking my arm in two. I also shattered my left shoulder blade from the force of that impact. Shattered the visor on my helmetcausing this damage. If it wasn't for Gai Murakamo I would have died. Thats why I decided to stay with Serpent's Tail." She nodded then got back to work. "Oh Murrue I know the plan. Let's set the trap and ambush them." Murrue nodded and said, "Prepare the ship for anti mobile suit combat." Then she turned the comm on. "All hands report to level one battlestations Repeat all hands report to level one battlestations," She said. Ryan and Mu left to get Miguel and get to the hangar.

Hangar:

Ryan and miguel walked in to the hangar in their pilot suits. Ryan in his all black pilot suit said, "Miguel aid Kira with the defense of the Archangel. Imgoing out with my Sniper pack when Mu launches." Miguel nodded and said, "Yes sir." Mu said, "Kira be smart use Miguel from what I gathered from Ryan he is a great pilot and you will need his help." Kira nodded and the four broke away from each other and climbed in their machines. Ryan started the Shadow and had it moved to the catapult. "Roxanne, sorry Roxy please equip the Shadow with the LRAP please." Her face appeared on the screen, "but why would I do that? Shouldn't you be defending the ship with the MAP?" Ryan sighed, "Roxy it is a sniping pack that utilizes Mirage colloid, Why not use it? I can protect the ship from a distance. I need to talk to you when I get back." The only sound he heard at first was, "Eep," then she said, "Did I do something wrong?" He looked into her eyes and said, "Dont worry about that now. Just focus on your job please." She sighed and said, "yes, si.. Yes Ryan."

Mu was put on the opposite catapult as Ryan and prepped for launch. "Roxy's said, "Mu you are clear for launch." Mu nodded and said, "Mu La Flage, Zero, launching." Roxy then returned to mounting the LRAP on the Shadow and said, "Ford you are clear for launch." Ryan nodded and said, "Ryan Ford, Shadow Gundam, ShadowWolf heading out on the hunt." With that the Moebius Zero and the Shadow were launched into space. Mu took off for the Vesalius as Ryan drifted into the debris not wanting to use Mirage Colloid yet.

A/N Sorry I didn't get to the battle yet, but I had extra muse for this chapter while I was in the middle of writing. Next Chapter we will get to the battle here and the incident and subsequent battle at Artemis. Why did Roxy argue with Mu and what areher true reasons for being angry with Ryan and what is she hiding from the crew?(I left a big mention og it in the chapter. I hope someone spots it.) Why does Ryan want to talk to Roxy? find out in the next chapter. Please leave a review and help me grow as a writer.


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